The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
A vehicle may be classified into an internal combustion vehicle, a hybrid electric vehicle, and a pure electric vehicle according to power sources for generating driving force. The internal combustion vehicle generates power by burning fossil fuels, and has been widely used throughout the world. In order to address the depletion of fossil fuels used as fuels of the internal combustion vehicle and the environmental pollution, hybrid electric vehicles and pure electric vehicles have been developed and rapidly come into widespread use.
The hybrid electric vehicle may be classified into two kinds of hybrid electric vehicles, i.e., a first hybrid electric vehicle and a second hybrid electric vehicle. The first hybrid electric vehicle includes a motor and an internal combustion engine, and charges a battery using either driving power of the internal combustion engine or regenerative energy generated by braking of the vehicle, such that the motor is driven. That is, the first hybrid electric vehicle charges the battery with power generated therein without receiving power from an external part. Although the second hybrid electric vehicle includes a motor and an internal combustion engine in the same manner as in the first hybrid electric vehicle, the second hybrid electric vehicle can charge the battery upon receiving power from the external part in a different way from the first hybrid electric vehicle. That is, the second hybrid electric vehicle can charge the battery upon receiving power from the external part according to the plug-in scheme. The second hybrid electric vehicle is generally referred to as a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV).
Various kinds of pure electric vehicles have been developed and rapidly come into widespread use. A hydrogen electric vehicle charges a battery with electricity generated by chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen so as to drive the motor. The hydrogen electric vehicle produces electricity and drives the motor using hydrogen as fuels, such that the hydrogen electric vehicle need not charge the battery upon receiving power from the external part. Another type of the pure electric vehicle includes only the battery and the motor without using fuels such as hydrogen, charges the battery upon receiving power from the external part, and drives the motor. This pure electric vehicle is generally referred to as a plug-in electric vehicle (PEV).
Each of the PEV and the PHEV includes a battery to provide a motor with power, and connects a plug installed at home or a charging station to a charging terminal of the PEV or PHEV according to the plug-in scheme, thereby charging the battery. If the battery for driving the motor of the PEV or PHEV is not sufficiently charged, it is difficult to drive the PEV or PHEV, such that it is very important to sufficiently charge the battery in advance prior to driving of the PEV or PHEV. In the present disclosure, the plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) and the Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) will hereinafter be referred to as an electric vehicle.